CHAPTER 8 - CONCLUSION

1996 Emission Inventory for the Alamo Area Council of Governments Region

 

Preparation of the 1996 Emissions Inventory for the Alamo Area Council of Governments twelve county region was an extensive process. Best available methods and sources of data were utilized. EPA's preferred methodologies were employed when all necessary parameters were available. Otherwise, EPA approved alternative methods were implemented to calculate emissions for the various sources and categories.

Data used in an emissions inventory is, without question, the most important part of the report. Collection of this data becomes a crucial step in producing a successful inventory. Much of the information used in conducting an emissions inventory is voluntarily provided by businesses and occasionally by private citizens via surveys. Whenever possible, first-hand data was used. Since some of the information required for using EPA's preferred methodology was not available to AACOG, the use of estimations via employment or population figures was, out of necessity, used for some source categories.

Overall, the 1996 Emissions Inventory was a success, but areas for improvement do exist. Being only the second of such inventories developed by the Alamo Area Council of Governments, there is understandably room to make the process more efficient. This was to be expected, and with that in mind, the scope of work included identification of areas that could be improved in order to facilitate refinements of subsequent inventory reports.

One of the primary ways the inventory can be improved is by using the preferred method of emission estimation, as listed in the EPA's Emission Inventory Improvement Program, whenever possible. Often the preferred method required the use of surveys-a very time-consuming process. The advantage of the survey method, however, is increased accuracy of estimations and development of area-specific emissions. Therefore, future emission inventory efforts will focus on increasing the number of surveys used to estimate emissions from small, point and area sources. It should be noted that numerous surveys were used to develop the 1996 EI, including surveys for such sources as landfills, dry cleaners, residential equipment, light commercial equipment, industrial equipment, agricultural fertilizer use, agricultural equipment, agricultural pesticide use, agricultural insecticide use, and construction equipment.

In addition, the emissions calculated for this inventory were spatially allocated, in accordance with EPA-approved methodology, based on location of employment, households, land use, or other spatial data. A second method of refining future emission inventories is to improve the spatial allocation of the emissions at the 4-kilometer grid cell level.

This EI provides a thorough, well-documented inventory of emissions generated from all 1996 sources in the AACOG region.

 

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